


I'm Hooked On a Feeling... That You're in Love With Me.

by Iggysassou



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Charles is the Human Who Falls For Him, Erik Has Feelings, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, Erik is a Hot Zombie, For Once Erik Does Good, Happy Ending, M/M, Things Are Changing, Warm Bodies AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 14:46:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7896772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iggysassou/pseuds/Iggysassou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'E' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse but he is a little different from the other zombies. Unlike them, he has dreams. His life as an undead is pretty uneventful: he groans, stutters words, shuffles around the airport, and occasionally, he goes into town to get some fresh meat. But everything changes the day he meets Charles Xavier. For reasons he doesn't understand, he choses to save the young man instead of eating him and a strange but tender relationship begins. </p><p>Their relationship break the rules of the new world they live in. They have started something they don't fully understand but they are determined to go through with it even if their world won't be changed without a fight.</p><p>Aka: a Warm Bodies AU (based off the movie more than the book).</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Hooked On a Feeling... That You're in Love With Me.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GQD](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GQD/gifts).



> Work inspired by the beautiful fanarts by GarnetQuyen : http://garnetquyen.tumblr.com/post/60380755760/my-computer-livessss-for-now-7-woaaa-so
> 
> You have no idea how much I love zombies. When I saw the art it was like my two favourite things had smashed into one, so I decided to write a fic to go with it...

Everything around him is moving. Not fast enough to make him dizzy but it makes him confused. He is lost. Literally. He has absolutely no idea where he is. He has never been to this part of the airport before. He doesn’t even know how he’s gotten here. Ah. Memories are such a difficult thing when your brain is dead… he can’t even remember his name. He thinks it starts with an ‘E’. But it might as well start with an ‘M’. He can’t be quite sure, there seems to be a thick fog over his memories. He can’t remember anything from his past life. Judging from his clothes, he thinks he was a pilot. He has a very nice white shirt with golden strips, a blue tie and fitting dark blue pants. Well. His shirt is not so white anymore, it’s more a mixture of… red and brown. Other colours are there as well but those are the ones that dominate.

What was he thinking about again…?

Ah crap! He forgot he was on a moving sidewalk. Good thing he still has some reflexes left or he’d be sprawled on the ground. Seeing how easily he moves, he imagines he died not too long ago. And he doesn’t look too bad either, except for… well. The deathly grey skin, grey eyes, dark rings under his eyes, slowly healing cuts over his body… Alright. He looks terrible. But he doesn’t look as bad as some other undead. Or as bad as the Bonies. A shiver runs down his spine at their thought. The Bonies are the undead that have given up on life, for lack of a better expression. They look more like moving bones than humans, which he guesses is where the name came from, and they are probably the only things the undead are afraid of. ‘E’ tries to avoid them as much as he can. They are a grim reminder of what he might or probably _will_ become if he doesn’t turn to dust before.

After a long walk around the airport, he finally reaches the bar where he usually meets up with his best friend. ‘A’ is more like his default friend really but he is the only one who seems to somewhat get him. Most of the time they meet up and look at the other undead passing by, trying to guess what they used to be. He believes ‘A’ was someone important before, a business man or a politician maybe because he wears a sharp deep black suit that has survived remarkably well through all this. Even his face is not so bad. He looks dead like him of course, but his face only has a few cuts. ‘E’ is pretty sure his friend is from another country, maybe he landed at the airport just before everything went to hell, because he sometimes says words he doesn’t understand. He tries to learn them but it’s difficult when he can barely say three words in his own language.

‘E’ grunts in greeting as he makes himself comfortable on the seat next to him and ‘A’ grunts back, tearing his eyes away from the bottles in front of him just long enough to nod at him. They don’t do much more than grunt at each other but it feels like a conversation to them. And occasionally, they actually use words. Like now.

“Hungry. City.”

‘A’ nods with his creepy grin and they get moving, quickly joined by others. They are not exactly hungry, some of them don’t even have a stomach anymore, but there is this deep _need_ to eat. A relentless hunger that resonates throughout their body. ‘E’ hates it. He hates killing the Living but he can’t stop it. And he can’t stop himself from eating their brains. They are the best part. They trigger memories. To be more accurate, they allow the undead to absorb memories, the memories of those they killed, and they get to live again through them. They all crave for this tiny fraction of the past, for this reminder that they once were alive like them, for the emotions they awake in him. ‘E’ has no memory of what happened before he woke up. He doesn’t know how the world became like this. Maybe a disease? Or some chemical attack? An ancient curse? Either way, cities have crumpled to the ground and civilisations are gone. It should probably make him sad but he doesn’t feel much emotions these days. He only gets flicking memories or faint impressions, mostly from the brains he eats.

A delicious scent pulls ‘E’ out of his thoughts and he turns his head towards it, just like the others walking with them. He exchanges a look with ‘A’ and they all move as one. Fresh flesh. Young people. They are in a large building that looks like it used to be a hospital. They are making lots of noise, moving stuff around and opening doors, probably scavenging for things. ‘E’ has no idea what they are doing exactly but he doesn’t care.

He needs to eat.

He is the first to barge through the door separating them and as soon as he does, a tall boy with short brown hair hits him square in the face with his gun. Damn it. It does not hurt of course, his body has long forgotten what pain feels like, but it disorientates him for a second and he falls to the ground while gunshots ring through the room. He grunts and pushes on his arms to stand, only to freeze as his eyes fall on another boy, younger and glowing with life. Suddenly, everything around ‘E’ seems to slow down and he stares at the boy, the gunshots reduces to a faint sound in the background. The boy is crouching a few feet from him, firing his shotgun determinedly at the zombies walking towards him. Wow. If he had any left, this boy would take his breath away. His bright blue eyes are shining with determination, his messy brown hair might be a bit long but it looks good on him, it shapes his face nicely, falling in soft curls around his jaw. He is not wearing anything fancy, just a white shirt beneath a brown leather jacket and a pair of dark jeans but he is stunning and ‘E’ finds himself unable to move until the boy disappears behind the counter. No! He stands up, wanting and trying to reach for him, but then someone shoots him. It makes him take a step back in surprise then he looks up to scowl at the man who shot him. It’s the same guy from earlier. _Rude_.

Their eyes meet and the man freezes so ‘E’ surges forwards before he can do anything. In one swift movement, he makes him fall on the counter then on the ground and attacks him. It’s not a pretty sight. He doesn’t take any pleasure in crushing his skull to the ground but the new hunger he experiences is a very powerful thing. It overrides any previous emotions of guilt and remorse. And if he doesn’t eat all of him, if he spares his brain, then the man will rise again and become a zombie like him. ‘E’ wouldn’t wish that on his worst enemy, if he could remember who that is. And well… If he eats his brain, then he gets his memories, his thoughts and feelings. This is what he craves for above anything else. He wishes he had those left. He has faint, ghostlike memories of what feelings are like, but they are not real. They don’t make him feel human like the memories in brains do.

He takes a handful of the brain, shoves it in his mouth, and it takes him elsewhere as images flash behind his eyelids.

_The boy’s name is Perry and he is 9 years old, living in the countryside far away from the cities. There are fireworks, people are laughing and there is loud music. Ah, he is young, happy, excited! It’s beautiful. He could watch it for hours. His dad- or rather, the boy’s dad looks up at him. He is beaming with joy. So is ‘E’._

He chews again and the memory changes.

_Ah. It’s painful now, some bully hit him in the face, but ‘E’ relishes in the pain. There’s actual blood on his hands from his- the boy’s- split lips. It’s warm and red. Unlike his brown, sticky blood. Another chewing and he is now riding a bike into sunset with his father. The air is warm around him, birds are singing in the trees- ah the birds. They rarely hear them anymore. Either they died or they flew away._

‘E’ smiles. He feels less dead thanks to this boy’s memories.

The memory changes once again and now…

_Oh. It’s the boy. The gorgeous blue-eyed boy from earlier. He just told Perry he loves him. Perry can’t think and neither can ‘E’; his brain is dead all over again. He feels so happy, elated even, he has never been this happy before in his life. Charles loves him- well, he loves Perry. He just said so. This beautiful, beautiful warm boy loves him… and he expects an answer, he is nervous and shaking him into talking-_

_“I think I love you too, Charles.” Perry blurts out eventually._ _Yes. They both love him. He is their sun, he is warm, he is kind, he is love and hope, he is everything the world has lost. And he is smiling at them, brighter than a thousand stars. They kiss, and kiss, and-_

The memory fades and ‘E’ is brought back to the present. The smell of gun powder and blood reaches him; it would be suffocating if he needed to breath. He looks around him, confused, then down at the half-eaten brain in his hand and takes another bite. He doesn’t want to leave the memories yet.

_He is back with Charles, spread on the grass, and looking up at the sky with their hands tightly laced together._

_“I miss airplanes. My mom used to say that it looked like an Etch A sketch up there.”_

_Perry smiles at Charles, looking at him like he would look at the most beautiful thing on earth. Which he is, there is no contest. “I like how you remember that kind of stuff. Like… If they don’t, then it will just all be gone. You know?”_

_“Yeah… The world is so messed up.”_

_“Not all of it.”_

_Charles is laughing at him- at them- for how corny that was but Perry is right. He is the most perfect thing that has ever existed. So pure and bright and happy even though the world has gone to shit. Oh but Charles loses his smile. He is scared and looking for-_

“Perry?! Perry! Where are you, answer me!”

‘E’ is pulled out of the memories rather violently. Charles just saved his friend but his weapon is jammed and an undead is attacking him. He fights back viciously, he wants and will survive this. ‘E’ has to help him. But first, he gathers the brain of his dead boyfriend in his pockets for later. He wipes his mouth, hoping it will erase the traces of Charles’ dead boyfriend’s brain on his lips and stumbles in his direction. Charles has no weapon left, his shotgun is on the ground, useless. He is staring at him, absolutely terrified. ‘E’ can’t blame him. He _has_ just eaten up his boyfriend. He should eat him up as well but… he won’t. Charles is different. Something suddenly hits ‘E’ chest and he looks down to find a knife is lodged between his ribs. Had he been alive, it would have killed him. For once, he is thankful to be dead. He pulls the knife out, drops it to the ground, and keeps walking. Charles looks like a cornered animal like this, fragile and shaking with fear. Now that he is so close to him, ‘E’ realises he towers above him by a good head, which does not help his case so he tries to stutter some words to reassure him, smiling gently at him.

“Ch-Tch- Charles…”

Judging from the boy’s expression, his smile must be creepy because there are now tears pooling in his eyes and he lets himself drop to the ground. ‘E’ follows, crouching in front of him, and studies him more carefully. Wow. Charles truly is gorgeous. But he is terrified.

“Ch-Charles…”

He tries to smile once again and Charles looks at him perplexedly now. The other undead have just finished eating or are about too. Charles is not safe. ‘E’ needs to keep him safe. He looks down at his hands and- yes! Blood, _his_ blood! They won’t eat him if they think he is one of them. He gathers more blood from his wounds and bring his fingers down Charles’ face and clothes. The young man flinches, closing his eyes, and ‘E’ leans forward to sniffle him. Good. He smells like them now. The putrid smell of his blood is enough to cover his lively scent.

“Safe.”

He promises before grabbing his hand and pulling him up. Charles resists at first but he quickly moves closer to him when the rest of the undead gather around them, scenting him curiously before ignoring him altogether. Charles is considered as nothing more than an addition to their group. It happens often enough that it does not surprise anyone when a group comes back with one or two new undead.

It’s only once they reach the airport that ‘E’ realises how crazy he is. What was he thinking? Bringing a Living along just because he somehow fancies him?! He can only hope no one will notice, especially not the Bonies. They would see right through his masquerade and kill him. ‘E’ grips his wrist a little tighter and pulls him inside the airport forcefully, slowly guiding him to his place. Most of the undead have a spot they like to rest in, probably a distant memory of having a roof above their head and being safe there. ‘E’ chose a plane on the tarmac and made it his, decorating it with various objects he finds in the city. Maybe it was the plane he used to fly before because he really feels at home there.

He opens the door for Charles, lets him in, then closes it tightly behind them. By the time he joins him in the cabin, Charles is crying silently and huddled up in a seat far away from me. That will not do. He has to make him feel at ease somehow. He looks around him hesitantly then sits down on the seat across from him. He should clean up. He probably looks like a mess after getting shot at. It will be easier to flirt with Charles if he does not look like a crazy undead. ‘E’ runs a hand through his hair, hopelessly trying to comb it. He’s not sure the ending result is better but it will do, and he turns back to the young man.

“Home. N-Not eat.”

Charles is not impressed by his promise. If anything, he looks even more afraid. The undead huffs then tries again. Maybe he didn’t understand his speech, he talks very slow and stutters all the time. So he points at his mouth, clicks his teeth together as he shakes his head. Okay. On a second thought, this might be worse. Charles lets out a sob and turns his head away from me.

“Kee- keep you… safe.”

Ah-ha! He managed an almost sentence! ‘E’ is rather proud of himself. He rarely gets three words out like that. Feeling brave, he stands up to get closer to the young man but Charles flinches away, looking at him with terrified eyes. Alright. This is not working. ‘E’ takes a step back then decides to leave the plane. Charles will feel better if he can have some time by himself.

*

‘E’ walks to the parking lot and sit in the red cabriolet he likes. He wishes he could remember how to drive. All he can do is sit in front of the wheel, imagining how it would feel like to drive it. He doesn’t know why, but he is fascinated by vehicles, maybe it’s something from his past his dead brain desperately clings to. He sighs heavily then pulls a bit of Perry’s brain out of his pocket to eat. New memories appear behind his eyes.

_Perry is in Charles’ dining-room. He is eating with the Xavier family for the first time. Raven is nice, she jokes and asks question, but Brian Xavier impresses Perry. He is the one who managed to unit people and decided to build huge, impenetrable walls to protect the city within them. At first Perry is hesitant to talk but now they are talking about ways to keep the world safe and it’s easier to talk to Mr Xavier. Charles stays silent, scowling then suddenly explodes, yelling that this is not a way to live. He hates living hidden away in the concrete city his father has built to keep the Corpses out. He wants to find a solution to the disease that killed the world and his mother._

Another memory.

_Perry and Charles are sneaking out of the city. They go through old maintenance tunnels, through a heavily blocked door and come out in a huge but gloomy stadium. Perry pretends his gun is a bat and uses to hit an imaginary baseball. It must have been a nice place to watch games and rejoice with people before all this. Perry certainly loved watching games on TV when he was a little boy. He follows Charles under a broken window and- yes, they’re out in the open. It’s nice to walk on grass and not mud for once. The air is not exactly pure, the smell of decaying corpses is carried by the wind, but it’s better than being in the concrete city where they live on top of one another. They take a turn and…_

_“Dad?”_

_Perry is overjoyed, his father disappeared from behind the wall two days ago. That’s why they left the city in the first place, to find him. But his happiness is short lived. His father is not his father anymore. He is a Corpse, like ‘E’, and ‘E’ watches helplessly as Perry trips backwards as he tries to escape his father. Charles is the one who puts a bullet through his head. Then he takes Perry’s hand and guides him back to the city before the other Corpses can get to them, warned of the presence of Living by the gunshot._

‘E’ comes back to the present and frowns. Alright. No wonder Charles is so afraid of him. His kind attacks _his_ kind relentlessly. They kill them. He killed his _boyfriend_ and he’s currently eating his brain. Ugh… he has to find a way to make him less afraid. Prove him he doesn’t want to harm him even though he knows he probably won’t believe him. He needs to think of a different approach.

He spends all his way back to the plane trying to come up with something. It’s a difficult process when your dead brain can hardly think straight. He steps through the door and straightens up since he can’t take a deep breath.

Okay.

Here we go.

 _Don’t be creepy, don’t be creepy_. He reminds himself as he looks around the plane. Charles has moved, he is not in the same seat, and he is clutching to a knife now. ‘E’ keeps his eyes on him as he takes a step closer. Charles is still terrified of him, he watches his every move closely, so he deliberately moves even slower. Carefully, he walks up to him and raises his arms to open a trunk above their heads. He takes a nice cover out of it, one that doesn’t have blood or holes in it, and carefully places it on Charles, giving him his winning smile. Or so ‘A’ tells him.

“Why me? Why did you save me?”

Now that’s a good question. Which he doesn’t have an answer to. But this is not important, Charles is crying and it… it makes him sad too somehow. Can you regain feelings from eating too many brains?

“D-Don’t… cry.” He asks tentatively as he reaches out for him. Charles curls up on the seat in reaction and looks away, holding his knife closer to his chest. ‘E’ looks at him sadly – with puppy eyes he thinks distantly, then moves away as a thought crosses his mind. Music. Music makes people feel better, right? Many people have music in their memories. It doesn’t trigger that many things in him, but… he likes it nonetheless. He found an old record player during his hunts in the city and his trips have allowed him to gather a rather nice collection of vinyl records. He goes through his collection then puts on a record of one of his favourite song of the moment. It’s about a man lost in the sky. ‘E’ really likes it for some reason, maybe because he is just as helplessly lost.

“Keep… you… safe.” He repeats as he sits across from Charles once again, staring at him intently. He should try to blink. People blink. He doesn’t have to, there’s no fluid in his eyes anymore, but he can probably manage. He also tries to smile again, because people smile in their memories to make others at ease, but it’s a difficult task. ‘E’ has to focus really hard to make sure his smile is warm and not frightening. He remembers ‘A’ once telling him he looks like a shark when he shows all his teeth. Ugh, playing human is exhausting. 

Charles is frowning, looking hesitant and bewildered. He still doesn’t trust him but at least he doesn’t look terrified anymore. ‘E’ closes his eyes and bobs his head slowly as the music fills the air. He is probably off-beat but it doesn’t matter.

“What are you?”

 The question takes him by surprise and he opens his eyes to stare at him again. He doesn’t have an answer though so he shrugs before tilting his seat back. He looks at Charles with a hint of a smile then turns his head away, just as something weird happens in his body. Something in his chest just pulsed, just once, but it was warm and nice. That’s never happen before. Neither has any undead brought back a Living with them. But Charles… is special. In many ways. He is still staring at ‘E’ but there is only disbelief in his eyes now. Eventually, he turns away and falls asleep.

By the time Charles wakes up, the sun is up in the sky and ‘E’ remembers he should not stare at him. He sits back in his chair, looking in front of him with determination, but Charles speaks up and it makes him look back at him.

“I’m hungry.”

Ah. Yes. Of course, he has to eat. But he doesn’t have anything to give him. Should he go kill a human and give him a leg? Or maybe an arm? There’s the brain in his pockets but he’s pretty sure he won’t appreciate it as much as he does. ‘E’ tries to think of something he could give him. Is there human food in the plane? Maybe. That’s not something you look for when you are dead. He should take a look around, though he is unsure what he will want to eat. Charles once again cuts through his thoughts, his voice firm but also frustrated.

“Just let me go!”

No. No. He cannot go. He cannot leave. The plane is safe. Outside is not. “Not safe.” He replies urgently, staring into his eyes, trying to make him understand. He doesn’t.

“ _Not safe_?” He lets out a choked laugh. “Uh-huh. Not safe. Right. Because being inside a plane with a Corpse is totally safe of course.” He scoffs. “Then you should get out and get me some food then. Because I might be ‘safe’ in here, but I won’t be for long if I don’t eat and I’m starved so either let me out or go yourself but _do something_.”

‘E’ thinks he should probably be offended that Charles calls him a ‘Corpse’. A corpse doesn’t move, it’s dead, he is an _undead_. But he can’t hold it against him, it’s how the Living call them apparently. Instead, he is rather impressed by his confidence. Gone is the terrified boy from yesterday. Now Charles holds his chin up, his eyes shining with defiance. ‘E’ pretty sure he was into boys like him before because the weird sensation in his chest is back and it triggers faint memories of men like him. Charles moves on his seat and ‘E’ looks back at him. The young man has a softer expression on his face. He likes it a lot.

“Please? I’m really hungry. I’d be very grateful for some food.”

Charles sounds honest and ‘E’ finds that he likes the way he looks at him too, not like he’s a monster but rather… a curious creature he does not quite understand. He nods in reply, smiling hesitantly, and is rewarded with a small but beautiful smile. ‘E’ leaves his seat and exits the plane, rather proud of himself. This is going pretty well. They exchanged a few words and Charles is not afraid anymore. This is some good progress. Which reminds ‘E’ that he will have to tell ‘A’ about him.

He is halfway across the tarmac when he notices that some undead are heading towards the same direction, snapping their jaws and grunting. Shit. Charles didn’t leave the plane, did he? ‘E’ walks back hastily and finds him crouching behind a plane tire, hiding from the undead. He sighs and touches his shoulder. Charles jumps, knife ready to strike, but relaxes when he sees him. Gathering some brown blood from his wounds, ‘E’ once again puts it on his face and clothes. It’s enough to mask his very lively scent.

“Come. S-safe. Come.” He says as he takes his hand and stands up, pulling him along. Charles looks up at him gratefully and follows, sticking close to his side. The undead are still coming towards them. Ah. Charles has to blend in, he looks too alive, moving as swiftly as he does.

“Uh. Like… me.” ‘E’ says as he raises his arms and grunts. Charles stares, dumbfounded for a second, then nods and imitates him. He probably never did theatre because he is not a very good actor. He growls more than he grunts and overall, he sounds like an undead with a cat stuck in its throat. And he moves like a very stiff and stupid looking zombie from the movies people used to watch. “T-too much.” ‘E’ tells him after a particularly loud grunt. Charles scoffs but downplays his role a little and they manage to get through the small crowd of undead. ‘E’ doesn’t take any risks this time, he takes Charles with him to the food court. That way not only will he be able to keep an eye on him, but the young man will also be able to pick what he wants to eat because he really isn’t sure what he might want. Their tastes in food are quite opposite.

“I t-told you. Not s-safe.” He reminds him somewhat angrily once they are alone in the food court. Charles rolls his eyes in reply and starts looking through the drawers.

“Yes, well, I told you. I am hungry- Oh my god, is that a fruit salad? Oh I think I found some jelly. This is the best day in my life.” He decides suddenly as he moves past ‘E’, his arms full of various boxes and tin cans. He puts everything in a bag so that he can transport it back to the plane more easily. Charles is efficient, it only takes him twenty minutes to scavenge everything from the food court and they leave. The undead from earlier must have moved back inside the airport terminal because there is no one outside except for them once they reach the plane.

As soon as they get inside, Charles sits on his usual seat and starts eating, wolfing down two tin cans while ‘E’ stares, wondering how the food tastes. Once you become a zombie, nothing tastes good besides brains and flesh. He wishes he could eat something else though. Memories are often filled with tastes and delicious smells but it’s not the same as actually eating food.

“Oh my god. Mh…” Charles moans around a fork of fruit and ‘E’ gapes at him. He should not be allowed to make such noises. His chest is painful once again and he can’t tear his eyes away. Oh no. He has to stop staring. It’s creepy. Instead, he walks to the front of the plane and remembers something. He once saw beers in the food compartments. Charles will be happy with that; he likes to drink according to the memories he stole from his boyfriend. ‘E’ brings his founding back to him and smiles at him lightly as he hands it to him. He is rewarded with a dazzling smile and Charles easily opens the bottle. He takes a long sip while ‘E’ watches then sighs happily. If this is enough to make him happy, then he will have to find more.

“Oh gosh, I can’t remember the last time I had beer. This is good. Warm, but good nonetheless.” Charles bites around another fork of fruits and glances at him with a smirk. “I guess you can’t be all bad, Mr. Zombie.”

‘E’ frowns at the nickname and shakes his head. That’s not his name. It was such a relief to remember something from his past name, he wants Charles to call him by what he’s been calling himself for some time now. Or maybe he can help him figure out what his name was? He smiles at him and forces himself to speak, pouring a lot of effort into forming the proper sounds.

“My… My name…” God, this is hard. Why are there so many ‘M’ in this sentence, it’s ordeal to pronounce them.

Charles is looking at him with open curiosity. “You have a name?” ‘E’ nods in reply, grinning a little. “What is your name?”

Okay. Time to focus. He concentrates on the letter, wanting to make sure he will get it right. “EEEee.”

“Eeee?” Charles sounds confused. Uh. This is embarrassing, he can’t even say his name properly. He wants to die all over again.

“Eeeee.” He insists, hoping Charles will somehow get it. And he does.

“Does your name start with an E?” Charles smiles lightly at his enthusiastic nod and sits back, obviously thinking hard. “It starts with an E… Um… Could it be… Eddy?” He shakes his head. “Um, what about, Edison? Edward? Eliot? Elvis?”

‘E’ is trying very hard to remember, hoping Charles saying names will somehow trigger his memory, but it’s too foggy. He can’t remember anything besides the letter ‘E’. He sighs and looks away, a little disappointed in himself. Having a name to call someone is a good step in the direction of becoming friends and he hates Mr. Zombie because he does not feel like he is one. He doesn’t _want_ to be one. He wishes he could remember his name. Then he would move from ‘zombie’ to the ‘not-really-a-zombie’ category.

“Why don’t I call you ‘E’ then? Until we figure out a name you like.”

That suggestion takes him by surprise and he looks back at Charles with amazement. Charles wants to use his nickname for him. It makes him feel… Yeah, it makes him feel less like an undead and more like a Living. He smiles lightly, almost shyly, and nods once again as he repeats his name to myself.

“Then that’s settled. Nice to meet you, E.” Charles says then adds after a little pause, his voice softer now. “I want to go home, E.”

At his request his body stiffens. He shakes his head. “Not safe. It’s n-not safe.”

“I get that!” Charles snaps. The happy moment is gone now; he is frustrated again. “Look, I’m grateful for what you did, I truly am, you saved my life more than once already, but I have to go home. People will be looking for me, I can’t… I can’t stay here with you. What will I eat? Not to mention that I need to shower and my sister is back there… You brought me here. I know you can walk me out again. Please?”

His request is only logical and he really should let him go but he doesn’t want to. Charles makes him feel things. He almost makes him feel alive again and he has never spoken so much since he came back as an undead. He has to find a way to make him stay a little longer, just a little longer. He tries to come up with a good explanation and surprisingly enough, he does.

“H-Have to wait.” He nods towards the outside. “They… They’ll notice.” His speech is still incredibly slow but he’s proud of myself. That was a sentence, almost two sentences, and he barely stuttered. He looks back at Charles, hoping he will buy his lie.

“How long?”

Yes! It worked. He would cheer if he could. Ah, but he needs to answer. “F-few days?” He probably should not have said that in such a tentative voice, Charles might realise it’s a lie, so he keeps talking. “They’ll… forget.” There. He sounds confident again. He is making wonderful improvement. He really should tell ‘A’ about it next time he sees him. “You’ll… Y-you’ll be okay.”

Charles looks at him with curiosity in his eyes once again and he leans a little towards the undead, his eyes travelling over his face quickly, as if he was trying to solve a difficult puzzle.

“Are there others like you? I have never ever heard of a Corpse that could… talk before. I mean, apart from the groaning.”

‘E’ shrugs in reply. He honestly doesn’t know. Most of them do utter words every now and then, usually when they are hungry and want to go to the city, but he is pretty sure ‘A’ and him are an exception. He is certainly an exception. ‘A’ can assemble a few words but ‘E’ can make full sentences now. Charles sighs again but he is smiling lightly as he settles back in his seat.

“Okay. A few days, huh?” His smile turns into a grin that he tries to repress as he looks away. “What am I supposed to do for a few days around here? Do you have any distractions? Or do you… just… walk around groaning all day?”

It takes ‘E’ a few seconds to process his questions. Once he does, he shakes his head with a somewhat offended expression and stands up. He has an idea.

*

He takes Charles to the parking lot to show him his car. The young man whistles in admiration and takes a long look at her, his hands ghosting over her almost reverently. Suddenly, he ducks under the wheel. The undead is not sure what he does but the car suddenly roars to life and Charles cheers.

“Get in, E. We’re going for a ride!” He says as he makes himself comfortable on the driver seat. ‘E’ scrambles to his feet to obey and settles down next to him. Charles obviously knows what he is doing because he easily drives to the tarmac at the other end of the airport. At first he drives slowly, testing the car, then he goes faster and yells with joy as he lets go of the wheel for a few seconds to raise his hands in the air. ‘E’ can only share his feelings. This is exhilarating. He has dreamt so many times of driving this car, trying to imagine what it would feel like, but this is beyond his expectations. He loves it. If only he could drive too… he looks at Charles’ hands on the wheel, then back at the road and back at him again. He’s trying to figure out how he does it. He wants to be able to drive after he leaves. Charles must notice him because he suddenly asks if he wants to try, taking him by surprise, and he nods, smiling hesitantly.

Charles stops the car and they swap seats. ‘E’ put his hands on the wheel eagerly then glances at him, waiting for his instructions. His first try is not very conclusive. He almost sends the car crashing into a nearby jet. But after another few hesitant tests, he’s finally able to drive just like Charles. And he smiles broadly. He is happy. The feeling surprises him but he basks into it. He has never felt happy like that before, not without the help of a brain. Gradually, his body relaxes as he gets used to driving. He’s pretty sure he used to drive before because it feels familiar and he leans back in his seat. Charles is laughing. Now would be a good time to try flirting again so he tries to look cooler and only uses one hand to steer the wheel while he looks at Charles, a smile on his lips. He’s not sure he fully manages the sultry look he is going for, but he’s probably not doing too bad, considering Charles is smiling back at him. The young man shakes his head with amusement then puts his wandering hand back on the wheel.

“Don’t get cocky yet. Both hands on the wheel, E.” He instructs then closes his eyes to enjoy the wind over his face. ‘E’ glances over at him, drinking his sight, then locks his eyes on the road in front of me. The last thing he wants is to hurt Charles because he was too focused on him to watch the road.

He eventually drives them back to the parking lot, under Charles’ careful directions, and he manages quite alright until he presses on the accelerator a little too forcefully and sends the car crashing into another one. Charles complains loudly in reaction (‘Come on, E! It was a beautiful car!’) and takes a look at the car to examine the damages then sighs in relief and follows him back to the plane. The car has a big dent in the front but it can still go, which is all that matters to ‘E’. He can always find another pretty car in the parking lot anyway. He just liked this one because it was a deep magenta.

*

The next few days pass slowly and too fast at the same time. Charles goes through his stuff, smiling at a some of the objects he finds, and comments on his collection of vinyl records. He was greatly amused to discover that a zombie like him could be into music and he chuckled when ‘E’ told him he prefers the sound of vinyl because the sound is more ‘alive’. He made fun of some of his music choices as well, calling him an old man, but he doesn’t mind. He loves his laugh. It almost makes him feel warm again, makes his chest hurt in a painful but also pleasurable way. But it’s nothing like what he feels whenever Charles starts dancing to the music, his eyes closed and his body swaying in rhythm to the beat. And since Charles keeps his eyes closes while he dances, it allows ‘E’ to stare at him unabashedly as he tries to memorize everything about his body. Because if there’s one thing he wants to remember during his endless undead ‘life’, it’s Charles.

At some point over the time they spend together, Charles tries to dress him up. According to him, he looks good for a zombie, better than he first thought, and he would almost pass for a living person if his eyes weren’t so deathly grey. Which is how ‘E’ finds himself trying on various pairs of sunglasses, some of which make Charles laugh loudly, until he eventually decides he look better without them. It’s a relief. He doesn’t like sunglasses; they make it more difficult to see him. He knows he stares at Charles for too long at times but the young man doesn’t seem to mind anymore, he doesn’t squirm as much and even smiles back at him sometimes, even if the smile is tentative. The young man has tried to teach him how to dance but he’s not very good. His body is too stiff even though he’s got the impression that he’s moving more easily than before. Charles’ dance moves are bad though. ‘E’ should know, he has seen other people dancing in memories and he knows for a fact Charles is the kind of person you laugh at when the music starts because his moves are so ridiculous. But once again, it’s just another thing he loves about him.

*

Charles is eating his fruit salad, drinking the last beer in the plane, then puts his plate down and moves to sit across from ‘E’ on the ground. Ah. He is going to ask more questions. He has this expression on his face, determined but open to his answers.

“E, can I ask you- wait. Before I continue, can I… Can I give you a proper name? It feels weird, calling you ‘E’ all the time. You should have a name like, uh, a normal person.”

‘E’ starts to shrug but then remembers being told off by Charles because he shrugs all the time. He can’t help it though. It’s his default answer because words can be so difficult to form at times. Like now. He doesn’t know what to answer.     He likes ‘E’ and the names he first said where really bad. But it will make him happy so he nods after a few seconds of hesitation. Charles smiles in return and starts talking again.

“Cool! I thought of a few names. Just… Just grunt or stop me when you like one, alright?” He doesn’t even wait for his reply and pulls a paper out of his pocket. It’s a list of names starting with the letter ‘E’ apparently. ‘E’ has no idea when he made this list, he spent the past few days staring at him but he’s never noticed him making it, and he forget to focus on the names he gives him until one strikes a chord in him and he grunts loudly.

“Uh,” Charles looks back at the list and reads the name again, “Erik?”

‘E’ furrows his brows, trying to understand why it makes him feel something, and he looks back at him with a helpless expression.

“You like this one? You like ‘Erik’?” Charles asks then smiles. “It’s my favourite actually, I also like the name Michael but you told me your name starts with an ‘E’ so it doesn’t work. I think Erik suits you. Can I call you that then?” He nods in reply, still confused as to why this specific name seems to ring a bell, and Charles beams at him. “Awesome. Nice to meet you, Erik.”

Charles chuckles at the content sigh _Erik_ lets out but his face suddenly darkens and Erik braces himself for his next questions. He knows what he will ask. It’s been a few days already and he has not mentioned it yet.

“Erik… My boyfriend… He died back there.” His voice is strained but it does not waver and he stares at Erik, studying his reaction. “Is he… Will he come back? As one of you?” Erik shakes his head and looks away as guilt washes over him. Charles lets out a relieved sigh. “That’s good. It’s better that way…” He pauses as he brings his knees to his chest and circles them with his arms.

“Something happened to him. Well. A lot of things happened to him. But I guess… I guess it just came to a point where… he couldn’t take it anymore. Couldn’t take what the world has turned into. He changed.” One of Charles thumb is stroking the back of his other arm, a mechanical action to sooth himself as he talks. “You know in my world, people die all the time and it’s not… it’s not that I’m not sad that he’s gone. Because I am. But… I think I’ve been preparing for that to happen for a long time.” He concludes with a tight voice as he raises a hand to wipe away a tear that escaped from his eyes.

Erik doesn’t know what to do. He would like to make him feel better but he can’t. He doesn’t know how. Not when it’s his fault his boyfriend is dead. He’s the one who crushed his skull so that he could eat his brain and take his memories. Eventually, the silence stretches too uncomfortably between them so he stands up and puts a vinyl on the record player. The soft but upbeat music fills the cabin as he sits back across from Charles, closer than before. Slowly, he brings a hand to his own chest, over his heart, then extend his hand to press it over Charles’ heart. The young man watches him with a dumbfounded expression and asks once again, wonder obvious in his voice, “What are you?” He still doesn’t get an answer.

*

That night, when Charles goes to sleep, Erik goes sit in the cockpit. He doesn’t sleep, it’s not useful to his body anymore, but he wishes he could. He would like to dream again but that’s not an option for him anymore. The dead don’t dream. So he takes what he has left of Perry’s brain and take a small bite. Memories are the closest he can get to dreaming.

_The memories take him to the day Perry enrolled in Brian Xavier’s army. Perry is a little scared but more than anything, he is determined to join the group. He will get revenge for his father’s death. He will kill all the Corpses walking outside the concrete city and clean the earth of their presence. Then, he will find peace at last and Charles will be able to live the life he so dreams of. Mr Xavier nods understandingly at him and pats his shoulder before pinning a badge to his chest. It is an eagle, a symbol of their dead country, the one they are desperately trying to keep alive despite the dead rising._

_“Welcome to the force. I’m sorry for your loss.”_

_Perry nods in return, unable to talk, and another man walks up to him to show him how a rifle works. Suddenly the memory changes and they are back in the room where Erik killed him. Perry is leading the group as they scavenge for medication, pills, anything that might be useful to the doctors back at the city. Why is Erik seeing this? He should be going through happy memories, not this! Charles is telling him that they should leave because Raven heard a noise- she heard them. But Perry refuses to bail. He orders them to continue, they have a mission to complete. Then they come in and Erik sees himself attacking him-_

He spits out the brain, disgusted and distraught. This has never happened to him before. he has never had a brain showing him its owner’s death before. It leaves him chilled to the bones and terrified, another thing that has never happened to him before. He turns around, wanting to check if Charles is alright, and- shit. His makeshift bed is empty.

Charles is gone.

*

Erik walks-run as fast as he can to the terminal 2B. It’s the closest to the airplane so hopefully this is where Charles went. Thankfully he is right because he soon hears terrified cries coming from there, alongside loud groaning and grunting. He finds Charles surrounded by six undead, including his best friend ‘A’. He is using a mower to keep them away from him. One of them attacks but Charles is quicker and hits him in the face before using his machine to decapitate another. He manages to fight back two other undead before ‘A’ surges forward and yanks the machine away from him.

He won’t let him hurt Charles!

Erik surges forward and uses all his strength to punch ‘A’ in the jaw. This sends them both crashing into the ground, balance is definitely not their forte, but he’s the quickest to get back to his feet. Charles is apparently too shocked to act now so Erik takes care of the remaining undead by grabbing a steel bar and beating them up with it. Then he turns to the young man. He must be frowning because Charles looks slightly apologetic.

“You said a few days. It’s been a few days, Erik. I have to go _home_.”

The undead looks away, a little upset, but nods. He is right. It’s been a few days and he said he would help him leave. It was foolish of Erik to believe he could make him change his mind in a few days and suddenly make him want to stay. He looks back at the young man and speaks firmly.

“S-stay… together. Keep… you safe.”

Charles studies his face for a second, hesitating, but his attention is drawn away by a groan coming from behind him. ‘A’ is up, a deep scowl on his face as he demands, “What…?!”

“Charles.”

“Living.” He pauses to glance at Charles then glares at Erik. “Eat.”

Erik can’t blame ‘A’ for wanting him to eat Charles. It’s in their nature, they are not supposed to be able to control the hunger. It goes against the new order of the world and a few days ago he might have done it, but he won’t now. Charles makes him _feel_ things, he makes him happy, he pushes the hunger away and he would never hurt him. Erik shakes his head and moves to stand protectively in front of Charles, who has fallen silent and watches them nervously.

“Eat…” ‘A’ repeats more forcefully then screams, losing his temper. “EAT.”

A distant shriek cuts him short and they both turn towards the sound. Oh no. The commotion they created must have alerted the Bonies because there is one standing at the other end of the terminal, looking as terrifying as usual. He has seen Charles. He will do anything to get to him now and so will the others because a Bonie rarely hunts by itself. Charles whimpers and the sound spurs Erik into action. He looks back at his friend pleadingly and starts to walk backwards.

“We go.”

‘A’ watches them go with a thoroughly confused expression but he doesn’t try to stop them. Instead, he cocks his head to a side, as if the new point of view would help him understand them. Erik has to say he doesn’t understand what is happening either, but he knows he has to protect Charles. He is the most important thing in the world. Something about him is very important, even if he doesn’t know what it is yet, and it must be protected at all costs.

They reach the terminal exit but there are zombies blocking all the exits, banging on the windows and doors, trying to reach Charles. They need to find another way out… The tarmac! They can exit through the level below them. They will be seen by any nearby undead but at least they will also see the Bonies coming. Erik take Charles’ hand and pulls him towards the escalators going downstairs. Charles seems to have picked up on his idea because he lets go of his hand to light up his torch and runs next to him. Running is hard for Erik, his movements are not fully coordinated, but the knowledge that there is a Bonie on their tail makes it easier. They get through a heavy door and he hastily locks it behind them, effectively cutting off the Bonie’s only way to get them. They watch it run in the other direction, probably to find another way to reach Charles, then they start running again.

They are almost outside when they see three Bonies waiting for them at the end of the corridor, blocking the exit and forcing them to come to a complete stop.

Shit.

Erik looks around them, trying to find another way out or something he could use to protect Charles when a trolley suddenly appears on the Bonies’ right and crashes into them. Erik stares in disbelief as ‘A’ straightens up and turns towards them, smiling.

“Come with me.”

Erik grins back at him and starts to walk towards the trolley, glad that his friend has decided to accept his craziness and help.

“What?! No!” Charles’ voice makes him stop and he turns back to look at him then glances back at his friend. ‘A’ seems to get what he wants because he looks at Charles and adds, his tone a little softer.

“Want to… help.”

Charles scowls and fires back, his body still stiff. “Who the hell asked you?”

‘A’ lets out a breathy chuckle and nods at Erik. “I like him. F-feisty _m_ … _myshka_.” He then holds out a hand for Charles, who shakes his in disbelief and looks at Erik, then finally gives in when he nods at him. It’s not like they have a lot of options anyway. Erik climb behind him and ‘A’ drives them to the parking lot, which, now that he thinks about it, surprises him a little because he had no idea he could drive. The bastard. Erik has told him about his car and he’s never offered to teach him how to drive it.

A few minutes later, they stop behind the little red car and Charles jumps off the trolley, sighing with relief. Erik moves to do the same but ‘A’ stops him with a hand on his shoulder, staring into his eyes intensely.

“Are you… okay?”

Erik can only shrug in reply, unsure of what to answer, but before he can voice out his thoughts, Charles calls his name, his tone urgent and worried. There is a group of undead in front of him but they are not attacking. They are merely watching him, watching them. Charles is now hovering by his side and he slips his hand into Erik’s. Erik can feel him shaking slightly so he gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. He will get him out of here. The undead watch their linked hands with open curiosity, then stare at Erik and Charles for a few seconds, then look back at their hands. For some reason, Erik suddenly knows they won’t attack. They understand that there is something about Charles that needs to be protected. So he takes a step forward and pulls the young man with him. The others part in their way, simply watching and groaning softly. It’s odd but he doesn’t have time to reflect on their strange behaviour, they need to leave.

Once they get close enough to the car, he lets go of Charles hand and nudges him towards the driver’s seat. “You… drive.” The boy nods and hastily gets in the car, making sure everything is fine before starting it. Just as he does, a terrifying shriek tears through the silent parking. Without wasting another second, Charles puts his foot down and the car dashes out of the parking lot and onto the road outside the airport. The Bonies run behind them for a few kilometres but the car is faster and soon enough, they give up.

*

By the time they reach the city, Charles is shivering, soaked to the bones by the rain that started pouring at some point during their drive. They have been unable to figure out how to unfold the roof and as a result, they are both soaked, although Erik doesn’t mind that much. As an undead, nothing ever really affects him. He is worried for Charles though. The young man has tried to turn up the heating system but with the car open, it is ineffective. Eventually, he takes a turn and they arrive in what must have been a nice neighbourhood a long time ago. The houses are all large, with a garden and nice cars. Some houses have been burnt to the ground, others don’t have any windows left and time has taken its toll on them but Erik can imagine families used to live here.

“This is the last neighbourhood my dad evacuated. I was thinking they might have some food left I could eat and the house are in better shape than in other neighbourhoods. Not to mention that the city is too dangerous.” Charles explains as he pulls up in front of a house that is in pretty good shape compared to the others. Before they get inside, Charles checks their surrounding then quickly checks the inside of the house while Erik stands in the living-room, a little dazzled by all the things he finds. There are books, pictures, strange objects lingering everywhere. He picks up a large coin to study it then puts it in his pocket just as Charles comes back in the room with a lantern that he places on the table in the middle of the room. The young man is grinning, he is holding something in his hand, what is-

“Smile!” He demands excitedly. Erik obeys without thinking and he is blinded by a powerful light, making him jump back in surprise. Charles is chuckling as he waves a square piece of paper in front of him. Oh. He took a picture. This is… ah yes, a polaroid.

“Sorry, I should have given you a warning.” He comes up to Erik and shows him the picture he took. Erik looks like a deer caught in headlights but his face looks… rather good. He could almost pass for alive. It’s been a long time since he’s last seen himself, it’s not something he usually enjoys doing, so he stares at the picture while Charles goes around taking pictures of the house.

“It’s important to keep good memories, Erik. Especially when the world is coming to an end.” Erik looks up at Charles and watches him in silence as he speaks and takes pictures of the room around them. “Everything we see; we might be seeing for the last time. Perry used to say that.”

Guilt crashes over Erik at the mention of the ex-boyfriend and he looks away, pretending to be deeply interested in the picture of a family that hangs by the staircase, but Charles comes back to him with a grin.

“Here. Take a picture of me.”

Erik clumsily holds the polaroid and bring it to his eye just as Charles gives him a soft smile. It makes his chest do this weird thing again and Erik takes the picture almost reverently once it comes out of the camera. The picture does not make Charles justice but it is nice. This is something he can keep. While he stares at the picture and moves to take others, Charles finds himself some food in the cupboard in the kitchen and settles down at the coffee table in the living-room to eat. At some point, he disappears upstairs but Erik is lost in a magazine he picked up from under the coffee table. He tries to make out the words on the pages but gives up after a few tries and sticks to watching the pictures of people who were probably famous before all this. He wonders where they are now, if they are even alive. It’s rather ironic, how he can think and speak but not read. ‘A’ once said that it’s some sick joke of life; the answers to their questions are everywhere but they can’t decipher them.

Charles suddenly reappears at the bottom of the stairs. He looks so small and fragile in his still damp clothes; Erik cannot take his eyes away from him.

“I’m going to sleep, I’m exhausted.” He pauses, searching for his words. “The bed upstairs is not too rotten so… I’m going to sleep there… Good night.” He starts making his way up the stairs but quickly pauses and comes back down, looking hesitant and reluctant. “Um… Erik? I was thinking… There is room upstairs, you know, you can sleep upstairs too if you want.”

Erik stares, taken aback by his offer, and Charles quickly clarifies that he will be sleeping on the floor. He doesn’t care. It’s not like he is going to sleep anyway. He opens his mouth to reply but Charles beats him to it, adding more nervously.

“These empty houses creep me out. So… Yeah. Just. Come upstairs if you want.”

With this he disappears and Erik smiles. Charles him wants to sleep in the bedroom with him because he feels safer with him around. He stays still for a few seconds as he processes this information then sets the magazine aside and follows Charles upstairs. There is a cover and a pillow on the ground next to the bed, waiting for him, and Erik smiles fondly. He made him a bed even though he hardly sleeps. It’s… nice of him. He moves closer to Charles to thank him but the man silences him immediately. He is tensed and looking outside the window through the curtains. Erik leans forward to take a look but Charles immediately pushes him away, eyes wide with fear as he stares at the street. Erik obeys, a little confused, but he still cranes his neck to see the outside. Oh. There are armed men and a few heavy cars patrolling in the street. Brian Xavier is amongst them, sitting in a car and looking around him carefully.

“Holy shit. That’s my dad…” Charles whispers, distraught, and pushes Erik further away from the window. “Get back from the window!” He pauses, his eyes never leaving the small party outside, and adds even more quietly. “He would have killed you. He would have put a bullet through your brain and then…” He turns his head to look at the not-quite-zombie hovering by his side and gives him a horrified look. “Then you’d be gone.”

Erik only stares back in return. Dying now would be unpleasant of course, he likes being with Charles, but that’s his life now. He gets to live until he gets killed by a Living or by time. Charles turns back to the window and stares until the men are gone. Erik wonders why he doesn’t go with them immediately since it’s what he wants. He doesn’t ask though. Charles is agitated and he doesn’t want to make it worse, so he simply stands behind him until Charles decides the danger has passed and goes to bed. Erik imitates him by laying on the cover he set out for him and he rolls on his back, staring at the decrepit ceiling.

“Fuck. I’m freezing. Those clothes are still soaked.” Charles says out of the blue and pulls the covers back as he sits up on the bed. Erik turns his head to look at him and freezes. He is taking his clothes off. Not all of them, he keeps the boxers on, but… he is mostly naked and his skin is flawless. Creamy white and so soft-looking, Erik suddenly wants to touch him as a wave of hunger, different from the usual one, rises in him. He quickly turns his head back to the ceiling and doesn’t look back when Charles lays on the bed once again.

The silence stretches between them and Erik thinks he has fallen asleep when Charles speaks up again.

“Hey. Do you… Do you have to eat people? I mean, do you die if you don’t?” Erik glances at him and nods slowly. Charles is smiling at him again. “But you didn’t eat me. You rescued me. More than once.” It’s a statement. Erik isn’t quite sure how to reply to that so he shrugs.

Charles is lost in his thoughts for a few seconds then he props his head on his hand. “It must be hard, being stuck in that body. Well, not that you have an ugly body, quite the- er, quite the opposite actually but I mean… To be stuck in a dead body. I mean, I can see you trying, I guess we are all trying. To be a better person even if sometimes we don’t make it. But I see you trying harder than anyone else, even the humans in my city, you pour so much effort into trying to be… I’m not sure what exactly, more human maybe?” He smiles suddenly, soft and warm even though there are tears in his eyes as well. “You may be an undead, but there is good in you, Erik. I can see it.”

Erik doesn’t know how to answer to that. This is the nicest thing he has ever been told since his coming back from the dead. It should make him happy but instead, there is only remorse. The words escape him before he can stop them.

“It’s me.”

Charles looks back at him, frowning lightly. “What do you mean?”

Erik pulls the watch he had stolen from his boyfriend’s dead body and places it on the nightstand. Slowly, Charles extends a hand to take it and presses it against his chest. He is crying silently but he manages to speak through the tears. “I… I guess I knew it all along.”

“You did?”

“Yeah… I just… I just hoped it wasn’t really you.”

This hurts more than anything else. Erik can’t speak, he watches helplessly as Charles turns his back to him, but eventually he stutters an apology, his voice a little broken. Charles does not move or say anything so he stares back at the ceiling.

*

Erik doesn’t know how long has passed but his eyelids are starting to feel heavy and he is fighting to keep his eyes open. This has never happened before, not as an undead anyway, but eventually it’s impossible to resist so he closes his eyes… and dreams.

_He is standing in the middle of a field of apple trees. The sun is shining above him, warm and bright. He looks around him, wondering where he is, when he finds three people sitting in the grass not too far from him. It’s Perry, Charles and Raven. What are they doing here? How are they here? Erik starts to walk towards them. He doesn’t notice it, but he is walking properly, not in his usual stiff way._

_“If you could choose any job in the world, forget about the world we live in, just pick any job, what would it be?” That’s Charles’ voice. He is laying on his stomach, looking up at his two friends with a bright smile before he bits into the apple he holds in his hand._

_Raven is the first to answer, she has thought about this before apparently. “I would want to be a doctor. I want to help people, save lives, and… I want to find a cure. I want to find a way to cure the earth.”_

_Charles seems to be proud of her reply, he is nodding with a grin. “I like that. You’d do a great doctor and smart as you are… Well, you could very well find a cure. You’ll exhume the world.”_

_Raven frowns at his choice of words, confused, then rolls her eyes. “Exhume? Do you have to sound so pompous even though it’s the end of the world? What does it even mean?”_

_“It means like… to revive something.”_

_“It means to dig up.” Perry pips in, his voice a little rough. “As in digging up a corpse.”_

_Charles huffs in reply, he clearly prefers his definition of the words, and it makes Erik smile. Yeah. Charles would be stubborn enough to change a word’s definition. He has stopped only a few feet away from them, a safe distance he thinks, that allows him to listen on their conversation and watch them. They haven’t noticed him anyway; it’s like in the memories where he sees but is never seen. But then Perry turns his head and looks up at him, squinting a little as the sun hits him in the eyes._

_“And what are you doing here, Corpse?”_

_The two others turn their heads to look at them and Charles starts to smile._

_“Wha- are you actually dreaming right now?” Perry asks, disbelief clearly audible in his voice._

_“I’m not sure.” Erik replies and is surprised. The words flow out of his mouth just like they flow in his head, easily, effortlessly. He doesn’t have to think before he talks, doesn’t have to think about how to form the letters he has to pronounce, he just talks._

_“You can’t dream, Corpse. Only humans are allowed to dream.”_

_At that Charles steps in and scowls at his boyfriend. “Cut it out, Per’. He can dream if he wants. Right, Erik?” He asks with a gentle smile as he stands up and moves closer to him. “What about you, Erik? What do you want to be?”_

_Erik cannot take his eyes off Charles. He is glowing in the sunlight, his eyes are shining even more brightly than usual and his smile is breath-taking. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what I am.”_

_“Well, you can be whatever you want. I told you. There is good in you, I have seen it. You can be whatever you want.” Charles replies warmly. He is standing close to him now, cocking his head back a little so that he can look at him. Now that Erik can stand up straight, he realises he is taller than he originally thought and Charles is… small. Adorable._

_“We can, right? You and me?”_

_Charles hums with a nod, still smiling, but Perry cuts in, harshly reminding him what happened only a few hours ago._

_“That won’t happen, loverboy. Not after you told him you ate his ex.”_

_Erik lowers his head, ashamed of himself, but Charles finds his eyes. He is still smiling. He shrugs and Erik understands what he means by that. He will forgive him. Because he knows Erik has changed, he knows it was what Erik needed to do but doesn’t need to anymore. Charles doesn’t want to dwell on the past when the future is suddenly a little brighter because things have started to change._

Erik wakes up to find the bed empty.

Charles is gone, once again.

He stands up and runs for the front door. The car is gone as well. He feels empty. More alone than he’s ever been. Is that what being heartbroken used to feel like? He sways on his feet as the wind blows softly, hesitant and helpless, then goes back inside the house. Maybe Charles left something for him? A note he won’t understand but a note that will prove he might have some regrets about leaving him. All he finds are the pictures they took the previous night. On top of the pile, there is the picture he took of Charles. Erik carefully takes it in his hands then puts it in his pocket and makes his way back to the airport.

Charles has gone back to his city, his home, Erik should do the same. Whatever was happening between them is too strange, they should just go back to their lives and pretend it never happened. He wishes he hadn’t dreamt. He cannot be whatever he wants. He is nothing but a zombie, a corpse that somehow moves around and eats and thinks.

*

As if to mock him, clouds gather above his head and suddenly the rain starts pouring over his head. Like in those romantic movies people have in their memories. Erik keeps walking in spite of it, lost in his thoughts until he suddenly realises that he is cold. Worse than that, he is freezing. How is that even possible? The rain has never affected him before. Not since he came back from the dead. He is glad he put on his jacket on yesterday morning. It completes his look as a former pilot, with its decorations and golden strips, and suits him pretty well according to ‘A’. He had put it on to impress Charles, which he guessed had worked since the man had done a double take then smiled at his appearance. It’s amusing to Erik, the number of people who fantasise about men or women in uniforms. Rare are the brains that don’t hold memory of such a fantasy. Erik shivers and pulls the jacket tighter around him, scowling at the rain. A call suddenly makes him raise his head and he finds ‘A’ not far from him, leading a group of undead. His friend raises a hand in salute when he realises that Erik has noticed him and guides him to a bridge under which they find shelter from the rain. Well. Erik certainly did not expect this.

“W-What are you- doing here?” Erik asks once they are all under the bridge, shivering from the cold.

“Bonies… Chased me out. Came to… find you.” ‘A’ explains then looks around him. “Where is he?”

Erik looks down, the pain in his chest back. “Went home.”

The other man sighs deeply, understandably, and raises a hand to place it over his shoulder. He shakes Erik gently and asks in an almost gentle voice. “You okay?”

Erik cannot pretend that he is, he feels horrible, so he shakes his head and answers ‘no’. ‘A’ seems to get him because he shakes his shoulder again as he fumbles for words. “Bitches… man…” Erik only shrugs so ‘A’ keeps talking. “Bonies… They are…. L-looking for you.” He shrugs again, he doesn’t care what happens to him now. “And him.”

That gets his attention. Erik raises his head in alarm. The Bonies will not give up until they find Charles, he knows so. He needs to warn him and make sure he is safe because even his city of concrete and metal won’t be able to protect him from them.

“You two… started… something.” ‘A’ says then raises a finger to his temple, hitting it lightly. “I saw… pictures. In my mind. Last night… Memories… My mom… Summertime… A girl…”

Erik stares at him, dumbfounded and amazed. His friend was able to remember things from his past. An undead _remembered_ his previous life. This is unheard of and it brings a new life to Erik, making him smile again. “We… We are… changing. I t-think.”

‘A’ pauses then nods, smiling lightly. “We are.”

“We are changing…” A thought crashes into Erik and he adds, so excited he manages to speak without stuttering so much even though he barely notices. “I have to tell him. I have to tell… Charles.” He looks at the other undead. They haven’t said anything yet; they only watch in silence but they are very attentive. “Will you… help?” Erik takes the picture of Charles out of his pocket and shows it to them. “He-help… exhume?”

Surprisingly enough, they all nod, even ‘A’. The word seems to strike a chord in them. ‘A’ turns back to look at Erik, he is grinning. “They said… fuck yeah.”

With that, they all walk back to the city. Usually, they would avoid the concrete city hidden deep within it because although it shines like a beacon in the dark, holding the promise of fresh flesh, they have learned by now that they will only find real death there. Today though, they are heading straight for it, at least until Erik remembers the secret road Charles and his ex-boyfriend took a few times to escape the claustrophobic atmosphere of the concrete city. Erik guides the group through the maze then eventually, before they reach the stadium, he asks them to wait there for him. Amongst them, he is the only one that can pass for human. Not to mention that he knows the city from memories, Perry’s memories.

Now that he is alone, Erik wonders how Charles will react when he will see him – if Erik manages to get to him that is. He stumbles through the baseball stadium, the memories from Perry coming back to guide him, and keeps walking through the maintenance tunnels until he finally reaches the small door that leads him into the concrete city. He throws himself at the plank blocking his way in a few times until it finally falls to the ground and- wow. The concrete city is dirty, overcrowded, there are small houses built onto one another, people bumping into each other, goats and dogs running by, there is mud on the ground and it reeks of charcoal and burnt wood but… Erik relishes into it. He has never been in such a lively place before. He loves it.

He is so lost in his contemplation, amazed by what the Living have managed to build in order to survive their new world, that it takes him a few minutes to remember where he is and what he is. Hastily, he checks himself in a window. He does not look too bad. His jacket is hiding the blood on his shirt and the cuts on his arms. The rain has washed away most of the gore on his face. If he didn’t know any better, Erik would almost think his cheeks are flushed a light pink colour because of the cold but that must be a trick of the light because he cannot have red cheeks. Not with a brown, almost black blood in his veins.

Either way, he can pass for a human. A lost and slightly speech-impaired one, but that will do. He is not planning on speaking to anyone and since the night is falling, he knows there won’t be that many people out on the streets. He raises his head to look at the names of the streets around him and takes the one on his left. He knows how to get to Charles’ mansion, it’s deep in the city but easy enough to find since it is the Mayor’s house. At first he is tensed, scared that someone will notice that he is not alive like them, that he is different, but no one pays attention to him. A goat comes up to him, sniffs him, then goes away when Erik shoos it away. He is not going to let a _goat_ stop him from seeing Charles.

Finally, after a few confusing detours, Erik reaches the house. It’s more impressive than in the memories he has from Perry. It stands tall and unmoved in the middle of the road, radiating of power. There are guards patrolling not too far down the road but since it’s at the centre of the city, they don’t bother to guard it. The house is a safe place for Charles and his family. Erik hesitates then moves to stand under the balcony on the left of the house, the one that leads to his bedroom. He is hidden from the road by a tall tree and a few very tall bushes, which is a relief. He knows he won’t be able to pay attention to the road once he sees Charles. There is light coming from his bedroom, so Erik thinks it’s safe to assume Charles is home, but he doesn’t quite know how to get his attention. Should he call his name? What if someone else hears? And Erik can only speak, he never screams, he isn’t sure how he could manage such a sound…

Thankfully for him, he doesn’t have to do anything. Charles suddenly steps out on the balcony and sits on the guardrail with a heavy sigh. For a moment, Erik is too stunned to talk, too happy to see him again even though it’s barely been a day. He has cleaned up and changed clothes. He is only wearing an oversized brown sweater and underwear, probably what he wears to sleep. He looks gorgeous like that and it makes Erik want to talk to him so he calls up hesitantly.

“C-Charles? Charles!”

The younger man goes very still then slowly looks down and his eyes widen in shock.

“Erik?! Oh my god. What- what are you doing here! You can’t be here! It’s dangerous! Someone will see you!”

Erik only smiles in reply. He is too happy to care, at least he got to see Charles again. And he’s got such an important news to tell him, it’s worth the risk. “I’ve… got something to… tell you.” He replies.

“You- but- Erik, it’s too dangerous!” Charles is trying to repress a smile but it’s not working. He is just as happy to see Erik. At least until a feminine voice raises from inside the house, asking him to shut up. “Ah, sorry Raven!” He replies apologetically then turn back to Erik, his tone urgent. “Seriously Erik, _you can’t be here_ , what were you thinking! The others are not like me! They will kill you the second they see you- oh god, I can’t let them kill you. Don’t you understand?”

Erik shuffles awkwardly. Of course he understands, but this is more important. “Yes?”

“Seriously Charles, are you talking to yourself? You’re too old for an imaginary friend you know.” Raven steps outside, a scowl on her face, and walks up to him. “It’s late. I want to sleep. This face doesn’t stay beautiful by magic, it takes work and sleep and-“ That’s when she notices Erik standing under the balcony. She takes a step back, eyes wide open, and gapes at Charles. “Is that him?”

Charles bits his lips nervously then nods, staring at his sister, silently begging her to keep quiet and accept… whatever this is. They talked about Erik for hours after he came back home. Charles has told her everything about him and although she teased him relentlessly about having a zombie boyfriend, saying she wishes she could Google up whatever problem he has, he is silently praying she will be understanding now that Erik is actually there. “Yeah… That’s Erik.”

Raven nods slowly, her eyes still wide open, and glances down at Erik who waves at her. She gasps at the mundane gesture and chokes out a ‘Sup!’ in reply then turns back to Charles. “We have to get him inside, he can’t stay out there, he will be killed.” She eventually says firmly, her mind set on helping out Charles. If he thinks Erik is safe, then he probably is. It wouldn’t surprise her that even a zombie would fall under his charms.

Charles goes open the front door while Raven stays on the balcony to keep an eye on the road, making sure no one is coming. When Charles open the door, Erik stares at him, drinking his sight, then apologies softly. He’s not sure what he is apologising for but Charles seems to understand what he is trying to say because he nods then apologises as well, for leaving him without even saying goodbye. Erik smiles lightly in reply, he’s already forgiven him, then Charles takes him by surprise when he throws his arms around his neck and hugs him tightly.

“I’m glad you came back, Erik. Even if it’s absolutely stupid and reckless. I’m happy to see you. I… I missed you.” He admits in a whisper.

Erik holds him back tightly and nods. “I m-missed you too.”

Charles sighs, burying his face in his jacket, then adds with a light chuckle. “It’s funny, you feel warmer than I remember. My memory must be playing tricks on me.” He says before stepping away as a noise down the street catches his attention. “Oh shit. That’s a patrol, get inside!”

*

Raven is sitting on a chair in front of Erik. He would like to take a tour around the room because the walls are covered with paintings and pictures but she is staring at him, pinning him down on the couch, so he sits, squirming a little under her eyes. She leans a little closer, squinting her eyes with a puzzled expression. She looks as if she is trying to understand the strange thing that is in front of her, not exactly dead but not alive either.

“How did you die?”

She gets a shrug.

“How old are you?”

Another shrug.

“I mean, you could be twenty something, but you could also be a teenager. You have one of those faces. Although the clothes suggest you were a pilot so you’re probably in your late twenties. Did you wake up in them? From death I mean. I don’t think zombies steal things, but maybe you stole them? I mean I would understand if you did, uniforms are the best.” Charles groans behind her and hides his face in his hands, embarrassed by her questions. “And you don’t smell. You don’t smell rotten- Have you noticed Charles? He doesn’t smell dead. He just… doesn’t smell.” Erik tries to come up with a reply but Raven keeps talking, amazed now. “Amazing. And weird. Did you-“

Charles finally can’t take it anymore and interrupts her, moving to sit beside Erik. “Okay. That’s enough, Raven. He didn’t come for an interview, stop.” He pleads but his sister just cannot stop staring at Erik. It’s understandable, she has never encountered anything like him. Well. She has, but it usually tries to eat her. Charles ignores her and looks at Erik. “Why did you come, Erik?”

Erik is relieved to escape his sister’s unnerving stare and looks at Charles instead. “I came… to tell you something. To _show_ you something. To everyone.” Charles blinks in surprise and nods, silently asking him to keep talking. “We can… change. We _are_ … changing. I have to… tell everyone.”

Charles shakes his head adamantly. “That’s not going to happen, no one is going to listen to you. As soon as they see you they would blow up your head.” Erik pulls a face at that prospect. It sounds rather unpleasant. Then Charles seems to fully register what he just said because he gasps softly. “Hold on one second… You said ‘we’?”

Erik nods, smiling again. “Lots of us changing... _Dreaming_.”

Charles sucks in a deep breath at the revelation, his eyes wide open. “Wow. Alright. That’s… kind of a big deal. Oh God. Did you hear that Raven? They are changing! Maybe they can turn… maybe they can turn back? Oh how I wish I could study this! I wonder what triggered this-”

Although he would love to hear Charles ramble through the night, Erik cuts him urgently. “We have to… move fast.” He doesn’t know how long they have until the Bonies arrive. He hopes they will have at least until morning but he very much doubts so. They run faster than a zombie walks and it won’t take long for them to realise Charles is inside the concrete city.

“Oh. Sorry, I got a little carried away here... Why do we have to hurry though?”

“The Bonies. They are chasing me. Chasing us.” That brings fear back in Charles’ eyes but he swallows it down and turns to Raven.

“Okay. We have to go see dad.”

Raven now stares at him like he has gone mad then shakes her head with a nervous smile. “No. Charles, this is a very bad idea. One of your worst actually.”

“No it’s not! He was once a reasonable man-”

She lets out a nervous laugh. “Huh, no, Charles dearest brother of mine, I think you’re confused. It was _mom_ that was the reasonable one? It was _dad_ who grounded you for a year for stealing Peach Schnapps.” She keeps going, still looking at Charles like he is crazy. “It’s dad who _loves_ to shoot _Corpses_ in the _head_.”

“What other choice do we have though, Raven?! We have to at least try, I’m sure we can talk to him.” He pauses, his brows furrowed. “That means we’ve got to find a way to cross the city with Erik though. Someone is bound to notice that he is a… an undead. He might get randomly checked up because he is unknown to the patrols.”

Raven hums softly, sitting back in her chair as she tries to come up with something, then starts to grin. “I think I have an idea.” She stands up and rushes outside of the bedroom, coming back with her arm full of various beauty products. “I was keeping those for a special occasion but well, that’s not going to happen and this is a special occasion.” She says as she lays everything on the floor in front of her. “I am going to fix him up. He already looks quite human but with a bit of foundation, some blush and maybe lipstick? He’s going to look _alive_.”

Erik looks at her with wide eyes, shaking his head, but Charles is nodding in agreement, grinning. “Oh yes. Let’s do this. First stop: shower.”

*

Almost two hours later, Erik is standing in front of a mirror in the bathroom, unable to stop staring at his reflection. He has seen himself a couple of time in windows or broken mirrors since he came back from the dead, but this is an entirely new sight. He looks _alive_. Raven and Charles have worked wonders on him. His skin has a healthy colour, the rings under his eyes are gone, his lips are pink and there’s almost a light glow to his face thanks to the blush and bronzer Raven expertly applied. They have gone as far as putting make up down his neck, where his shirt conceals his actual skin colour, and they even cleaned his hands and combed his hair back, but it’s not what strikes him the most. It’s his eyes. As far as he can remember, they are a pale-grey colour but they are now a light blue. He wonders how that’s possible. They have not put contacts in his eyes and he is pretty sure it’s not the lighting. Is it part of the change his body is undergoing? If it is, he is really glad because it makes him look even more human. He smiles at his reflection and enjoys the sight of his white teeth (Raven suggested brushing them at some point – a very good idea) then turns around when the door opens. The two sibling were obviously unable to wait any longer to see the finish product of their hard work and they both do a double-take when they see him.

“Holy shit he’s hot.” That’s Raven. It seems Erik has broken his brother because he says nothing, only nods absently as he stares at him, his eyes trailing over his face with interest and… something else Erik does not fully understand.

“Erik you… you look fantastic.” Charles eventually manages to say, his voice thick with emotions, and slowly walks up to Erik to take a proper look at him. He really does look alive. And fuck. Erik was already a rather handsome zombie but this is taking handsome to a whole new level. Charles blushes when he hears Raven coughing loudly behind him and realises he’s probably been staring at Erik for the past ten minutes. “Right! Sorry! Yes. Plans. Talking. Things to do. I’ll, uh, I’ll wait in the bedroom- I MEAN. LIVING-ROOM. _Oh my god_.”

Charles then proceeds to exit the bathroom as fast as he can, red-faced and clumsy but valiantly ignoring Raven’s laugh as she follows him. He doesn’t notice the way Erik looks at him, with amusement and fondness in his eyes, but Raven does when she glances back at him to make sure he is following them. Now that Erik is all dressed-up, he looks freakishly human and it would be easy to forget he is a zombie if he didn’t walk in such a hesitant way. She does not fully understand what is happening between the two men but she is ready to accept anything. They live in a fucked-up world anyway, her brother dating a not-really-zombie is not the end of the world. Especially when said not-really-zombie is so damn hot and seems to care about him so much.

While Charles goes over the plan with Erik, Raven cleans their guns and checks their ammunition to make sure they can fight if the need arises. She knows the talk with their father will go wrong. There are too many reasons for it to go wrong despite all what Charles is saying, so she wants to be prepared. She will not let anything happen to her brother because he doesn’t understand that it’s impossible to reason with people who have completely given up on hope. Ravens looks up when Charles calls her name and nods, standing up to follow them outside. Silently, she sends a prayer to anyone that for once things will go according to plan.

*

Amazingly enough, they manage to go through the city unnoticed. Raven walks in front of the two lover boys, ready to intercept and deflect any unwanted nosy person, but no one seems to care about them. Some people stare when they see Erik but it’s probably because he is a new face in town and looks rather handsome in his pilot uniform. It’s when they are about to reach the military facilities of the town that they face their first problem.

A guard steps from under a tent to stop them when he sees them and asks where they are doing. Charles simply replies that they want to see his father, a simple sentence that usually gets him inside any building in town, but the guard shakes his head. According to him, the city is on red alert but he refuses to say more, raising the ‘it’s classified’ card on them. Raven rolls her eyes in reaction and bumps past him, replying that they are on a ‘top secret mission’ too. The guard hesitates but lets them pass by him. He knows better than to keep the Xavier siblings from going somewhere.

Their cover story is almost blown when Erik stops by the guy to ask him how he is doing but thankfully the guard only gives him a weird look in return and they are free to keep going. Now that they are close to their father, Charles starts to wonder if his plan was such a good idea and almost wishes he had listened to his sister. He probably shouldn’t have brought Erik along. Deep down, he knows his father will want to put a bullet through his head, but he can’t help hoping he will manage to convince him before he does so. He slows down when he sees his father shouting orders at his men who hurry to obey. There are machines buzzing around them, vehicles moving and people preparing weapons, as if they were preparing for war. This disconcerts Charles and his worries only increase. Things have been pretty quiet over the past few weeks, there are hardly any zombies left in the city around them and the Bonies have not attacked for a very long time. Seeing so much commotion is unsettling. But whatever is happening is not as important as what he has to tell his father so he walks up to him determinedly, leaving Erik behind with Raven. Better not actually bringing him up until his fathers at least accepts to listen.

“What are you doing here?” Is the first thing his father asks when he sees him. He is tensed, obviously preparing for a battle that Charles does not know about.

“What’s all this? What’s going on, dad?” Charles asks nervously in return as he gestures at all the things happening around them.

“Not sure but it’s not good.” His father replies darkly as he keeps walking. “We’ve been getting reports that large gatherings of Bonies and Corpses are coming towards us. We don’t know why but if they attack, there’s nothing we can do. There’s too many of them and too few of us. So I want you to get home and hide in the bunker with Raven until this is over.”

Charles is sickened by the confirmation that the Bonies truly are coming after him but he quickly gets over his fear when he hears his father’s last words. His orders really. “Yeah, no, dad, I need to talk to you.” He looks around them then pulls his father to a quiet corner.

“Charles, not now, I-“

“Dad, this is very important! Please.” His father sighs heavily but crosses his arms on his chest and stands still, waiting for him to talk. “Okay, this is… this is going to sound crazy but please listen to me until the end, it’s very important that you listen and keep an-an open mind about this, alright?” Charles doesn’t wait for his father’s answer to keep talking. “I think the dead are coming back to life.”

His father stops looking at his men to stare at him instead then scoffs. “Yeah, that does sound crazy.”

“No but, they are changing, dad! They are somehow curing themselves and coming back to life and-“

“Oh. So you think they are curing themselves.” He repeats, deadpanned. “How is that?”

“I don’t know but I saw it, dad!” Charles pleads desperately but his father stands unmoved by what he is saying. Just like Raven said, he is closed to the news that things might be getting better soon. He has seen too many horrors to believe that there can be an alternative to the whole ‘wake up, kill zombies, sleep, and start again’ life they are leading. “It is really happening; I saw it happening-”

“ _No_. No. Charles, you know what is really happening? What’s happening is that every day, there is more of them and less of us.” His father replies, not raising his voice but sounding all the bits like a parent talking to a child throwing a tantrum. “They are _not_ curing themselves. We are their _food_ _resources_. They are not becoming vegan. They don’t eat broccoli, they eat brains, _our_ brains, Charles. Your mother’s and you boyfriend’s included, okay? So I want you to _wake up_!”

Erik has been listening to the whole conversation, hiding behind a jeep with Raven, and he quickly realised the plan is not going to work. Not without him at least. The man will need to see evidence of what Charles is claiming or he will never believe him. Their talk is too theoretical and the life he has gone through has rooted him firmly to the earth, unwilling to dream and imagine again. So Erik straightens up and walks up to Charles, focusing on walking as humanly as possible. Raven is distracting him by trying to talk him out of doing it so he doesn’t notice their father has moved until he almost bumps into him. Erik blinks in surprise – their father is taller than he thought – then offers him a smile. They practiced smiles with Charles, hopefully he is doing a good impression of a ‘warm and engaging’ smile. Charles’ eyes go wide when he sees him and he immediately rushes to his side, putting himself slightly in front of him as if to shield him.

“H-hi.”

Brian Xavier takes a step back and eyes him cautiously. He knows that there is something off about him. “Who are you?” He demands, his eyes never leaving his face. Erik makes an extra effort to look as alive as he can but it’s difficult when fear slowly spreads in him, paralysing him.

“This is Erik.” Charles supplies quickly. He is looking at his father with pleading eyes but the man doesn’t notice, too focused on Erik.

“I didn’t ask you, I asked him. Who are you, son?”

It seems that all the improvement he has made over the past few hours is gone because Erik is stuttering all over again and he can already tell how this is going to end. “M-m-my… my name….”

“You a Corpse?”

Shit. Erik does not know what to say. Charles swoops in once again, raising his voice a little so that his father will listen to him this time. “He saved my life, dad. He took care of me.” Charles glances up at Erik then looks back at his father. He looks very small, standing between the two men towering above him. “I triggered something in him, dad, and-and that must have… spread to the others because- DAD!“

Charles is interrupted by his father swiftly pulling his gun out of its holster and pressing it to Erik’s forehead as he backs him up against a jeep. “Now he has triggered something in _me_.”

“No, dad!”

“W-we wanna help.” Erik assures, willing his lips and vocal chords to help him speak properly again. It makes Brian pause and he gives Erik a surprised look. For one second, he seems close to believing them so Charles starts talking again.

“Please dad, they are trying to help us, they want to help!”

“We’re getting better-“

Erik should have kept his mouth shut this time because this seems to bring the man back down to earth. “No. Things _don’t_ get better, things get _worse_. People get bit, then infected, then I shoot them in the head.” Charles is pleading him to spare Erik but there is no stopping him. “That’s what happened to your mother and that’s what is going to happen to him.” He presses the gun to Erik’s forehead, cocks the trigger-

Raven is suddenly behind him, her own gun pressed between his shoulder blades. “I’m really sorry, dad.” She looks past him, at Charles, and whispers. “Go. I’ll hold him back for as long as I can, just go. Go somewhere safe.”

Charles is torn apart; he doesn’t want to leave his sister behind but he cannot leave Erik alone either. So Erik takes the decision for him and grabs his hand, pulling him away from there. He will take him back to ‘A’ and together they will find somewhere to live, somewhere where they can safely change. Maybe one day they will come back and prove Charles’ father they were saying the truth. They stop running once they reach a dark alley and Erik turns to Charles.

“We must… warn my friends.”

“Where are they?”

“In the stadium.”

Just as he says the words, all the lights in the city turn on and the alarms start blaring so they start running again to escape the men after them.

*

By the time they reach the stadium, Charles has a painful stitch in the side but his pain vanishes once they reach the place where Erik has left ‘A’ earlier tonight. He gasps, eyes widening as he takes in the large crowd of zombies standing under the moonlight passing through the glass-roof, and moves closer to Erik. Even though he trusts Erik, as well as his friend to some extent, this is downright frightening. He has never seen such a large gathering of undead before and it makes him weary.

Erik looks down at him and takes his hand firmly, giving it a squeeze before he starts walking towards the group. There are more zombies than when he left ‘A’. They were about twenty back then and now there seems to be at least a hundred of them. ‘A’ is making his way through the crowd and smiles faintly when he reaches them.

“Hi. Hi, Charles. Ready for… a fight.” He says as he nods at the group behind him. “Soldiers coming. Bonies not here yet but-“

A loud shriek interrupts him and they all look up to find that contrary to what ‘A’ has just said, the Bonies are already there. They are climbing on the glass-roof and they distinctly hear the glass crunching as their start punching it.

“Ah. They’re here now.” ‘A’ remarks unnecessarily, earning a ‘not kidding??’ look from Erik. They both glance at Charles then nod at each other.

“Keep them out.”

“We will. Keep _myshka_ safe. Now run.”

Charles does not need to be asked twice. He worms his way through the crowd of zombies, Erik hot on his tail, and runs as fast as he can to escape the Bonies that have started falling through the broken glass-roof. They hear the fight breaking out behind them but they don’t have time to look back and Erik can only hope his friend will make it out alive. Or not more dead at least.

Soon, they reach the field but so do the Bonies. There are two running behind them, they shriek and click their jaws at them. Charles does not stop running but he twists around to shoot at them, managing to them both down in only three shots. A distant part of Erik’s mind is impressed by this but he is too focused on running to comment. The shrieks follow them as they run higher and higher inside the stadium. There is no point in going outside, most of the exits have been sealed off and the ones that are not are guarded by more Bonies. Their only hope is to outsmart them by taking every shortcut and maintenance tunnels while using as little amo as possible.

They have finally made it to a quiet level to rest a little when Charles hears someone announce that they have found Xavier’s son so they start running again, this time to escape the humans after them. It’s the most morbid game of hide and seek Charles has ever played. He knows he could go back to his father’s men and be somewhat safe amongst them but that would mean losing Erik and their only chance of curing the world and he is not about to let that happen so he keeps running, drawing on his reserves to do so.

Erik is not sure he appreciates being more alive than dead right now because too soon, there is a stitch in his side and he slows down. Just as he does, a Bonie jumps on his back and before Charles has time to fire at it, another surges from his left and placates him on the ground. Erik fights back the one of his back viciously until the Bonie throws him against a wall. It makes him dizzy for one second but then his eyes fall on an iron toolbox and in one movement, he takes it and smashed it into the Bonie’s head until it stops moving. Then he runs to help Charles. He has lost his gun at some point during the fight and is using all his strength to keep the Bonie above him from biting into his neck. Erik swings the toolbox into its face hard enough that only one blow is enough to take it down and they are free to run once again.

There is probably little to no point in running around like they are doing but neither of them is ready to give up on life just yet. The sound of gunfire shooting resonates throughout the stadium. A large battle is happening at its centre, on the baseball field, and the two opponents are strange enough that Erik and Charles pause to watch. It seems that while they were running around, Corpses and Living have teamed up to fight back the Bonies because a strange formation of armed Living and hesitant Corpses is running toward a large group of Corpses. It’s such an unexpected vision that they stare at the fight for almost a minute until the sound of shrieking catches up with them once again and they start running.

They have reached the highest room in the stadium and that’s where their run comes to a stop. There are already Bonies waiting for them there. They’ve noticed them too late to go back the way they came from and the ones who had been following them are now blocking this exit. Erik looks around them and finds a single door behind them. He grabs Charles’ hand and runs towards it, violently pushing it open… And almost falls to the ground some seventy metres below. Charles only just manages to catch him before he can and they both exchange a look before looking back at the Bonies slowly closing on them. The sun is rising behind them but neither of them care.

They are trapped.

There is no way out this time.

They can only choose how they want to die.

Charles looks up at Erik, feeling absolutely helpless. “It’s over.”

Erik shakes his head, staring at him intensely. “No. Keep you safe.” He repeats firmly. He glances at the ground below us, looking for a solution. There is an old fountain there but it’s probably not deep enough to slow their fall and a fall from this height would result in injuries for Charles. Erik stares at the pool then a thought crosses his mind and he looks back at Charles, a determined expression on his face as he promises, “it’ll be okay.”

The Bonies have started running towards them and Erik does something that takes Charles completely off guards. He wraps both his arms around his waist, pressing them tightly together, then falls backward into the void behind them. As they fall, he wraps himself around Charles so that once they reach the water a few seconds later, his body shields Charles and absorbs the violence of the crash. As Erik had thought, the pool is not deep enough to cushion such a high dive and the back of his head bashes into the bottom of the pool, effectively knocking him out cold while Charles swims back to the surface.

Charles gasps loudly once he reaches the surface, gulping in the air as he tries to understand what happened. He looks around him, frantically searching for Erik, and panic seizes him when he doesn’t see him resurface. Does he even know how to swim? Was the drop what finally… No.

“ERIK! ERIK?!” He turns around in the water then he spots him, laying very still at the bottom of the pool. Oh no. They have not gone through all this for it to end here. No way. He takes a deep breath then goes back under the water. It takes some efforts because for a zombie, Erik is quite well-built, but Charles manages to bring him to the surface with him. “Erik! ERIK! Please don’t do this, come back to me-“

Erik suddenly opens his eyes and jerks as he realises he is in the water. “What-“

Before he can say more, Charles jumps to his neck, nearly pulling them both under the water. “Oh my god, you’re okay!” He pulls away and cups his face in his head, pushing his hair back as he examines him closely while happy tears escape his eyes. “You’re okay! You’re not- Oh Erik you scared me!”

The other man only smiles back at him, incredibly relieved to see that his plans has worked and that Charles is unhurt. Slowly, he pulls Charles to him and the younger man stops talking to look at him instead. They stare, drinking the sight of each other, then together they move forward and the next second, they are kissing, slowly at first then more urgently and they don’t stop. They’re both hungry for each other, for the love that has been slowly building between them. And it’s fantastic. It’s the best thing that has ever happened to Erik, there are butterflies in his stomach and his heart is beating rapidly in his chest-

He paused and pulls away from the kiss. His heart is beating.

Charles looks up at him, love written all over his face, then his eyes widen in surprise. “Erik, your eyes…” Where they were one a sad light-grey, they are now a vibrant blue. But before he can say more, a gun fires somewhere behind him and pain explodes in Erik’s left shoulder. Charles immediately turns around and is horrified to find his father standing above them with his men, his gun aimed at Erik. 

“Next one is the head. Move away from him.” When his son doesn’t move, except to shield the undead fully, he repeats more firmly. “Move away from him, Charles. Now.”

“Dad, please, you have to listen to me.” Charles pleads, his voice wavering. He has his hands raised in front of him in sign of appeasement and stares into his father’s eyes, silently begging him to _listen_. “I know we’ve lost everybody, I know you lost mom. But you and me, we’re still here. Raven is still here. We can fix all this! We could start over! They need our help and we need theirs.”

His father seems unaffected by his words but the men around him are starting to fidget uncomfortably. They glance at each other hesitantly, silently asking what to do. Most of them have fought through the night with Corpses fighting by their sides. Something is changing, even though it’s so hard to believe it after so many years of things getting worse. But Mr. Xavier doesn’t move. He stares at his son, his gun still raised, and the boy looks utterly helpless and alone in the large pool.

“Please dad! Look at him!” Charles begs as he turns around to look at Erik, finding him with a hand pressed to his shoulder, then turns back to look at his father. “He’s different, he’s…” He looks back at Erik once again and gasps. “He’s bleeding!” The water around them is starting to turn red and Charles turns back to his father, elated. This is the proof he needs. “He’s bleeding, dad! Corpses don’t bleed! Oh my god, Erik, you’re alive!”

While Charles frets over Erik, repeating over and over that he is alive, the men around Mr Xavier watch the man lower his weapon slowly. They wait for his orders but when none comes, they all lower their weapons and walk towards the edge of the pool to help the two men out of the water. Charles makes sure they help Erik then turns to his father and jumps to his neck, holding him tightly for a few seconds, then he pulls back and goes back to Erik. They have to stitch him up and make sure no vital organs were damaged. He is not about to let Erik die when he only just came back from the undead.

“Attention everyone, this is Colonel Xavier, the situation has changed.”

Charles sends him a bright smile, overjoyed that his father seems to have accepted that things are going to get better, and smiles back at Erik. A doctor has opened his jacket and shirt to take a look at the bullet wound and… alright, it looks scary but neither man care so much as red blood pours out of it. Erik is alive. Things are going to be okay. The dead are coming back to life and they can start over. Charles looks up at Erik and kisses him again, relieved and happier than he has ever been in his life. However sappy it sounds, love was the cure they needed all along.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you liked it! 
> 
> Do let me know if there are mistakes I missed, I had it beta'd it but neither me nor my best friend are native English speakers so we might have missed a few things.
> 
> I will write an epilogue but I wrote this in less than four days and I'm supposed to write something else so I'm going to take a small break before I do. Except if I get very inspired again.


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